Artemision

The Artemision is an Archontic weapon launched from Demiurge's tubes, described as a 'lumbering, thoughtless beast of metal and glass' and a 'clockwork horror.' Unlike Albedo, it is mindless and non-intelligent. In appearance it resembles an antique telescope roughly one mile in length, or alternatively a quiver filled with twelve arrows. It carries twelve bolts as its primary armament.

The bolts fired by the Artemision are mechanisms that fold in on themselves through higher dimensions of space, overlapping until only a seam of folded space remains. The result is a line singularity — a wrinkle in the fabric of space that is not infinitely massive but infinitely dense. These bolts pass through shields, hulls, and superstructure completely unimpeded and continue through space indefinitely after firing.

The Artemision is disgorged from Demiurge's launch tubes during the engagement in which Hadrian is present. Hadrian's pilot fires one of its twelve bolts at the Bradamante on Hadrian's command. The bolt passes through the Bradamante without resistance, causing a matter-antimatter annihilation that destroys the vessel. The remaining matter spirals around the resulting ray of darkness for years.

The Artemision is operated by a pilot under Hadrian's command during the engagement.